Today’s Walk in the Word

A Story about Forgetting that’s Worth Remembering

By Joe Barnett / February 2, 2017 / Comments Off on A Story about Forgetting that’s Worth Remembering

I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.                 —Jeremiah 31:34 The old mystic told him that she and Jesus talked one-on-one every night, and that he told her about the shenanigans of people who thought their sins were secret. He was skeptical, but […]

Father, Make Me Like You

By Joe Barnett / February 1, 2017 / Comments Off on Father, Make Me Like You

Stop judging by mere appearances.                       —John 7:24 Sometimes I spout words that hurt. And sometimes I judge people in thought, even if not in word: loser; irrelevant; stupid. As if my opinion is worth beans. It isn’t. As if my assessment makes me superior. […]

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

By Joe Barnett / January 31, 2017 / Comments Off on Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence.                —Hebrews 4:16 The writer of Hebrews holds Jesus up and asks us to have a good look: “Fix your thoughts on Jesus” (Heb 3:1); “Keep your eyes on Jesus” (Heb 12:2, TLB). Jesus is not out to get […]

Hearing His Voice

By Joe Barnett / January 30, 2017 / Comments Off on Hearing His Voice

Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?                                —Isaiah 6:8 You’re being pulled in a dozen directions by people and projects wanting—sometimes demanding—your time and attention. Life is zipping by more rapidly than you ever imagined. You alone […]

Focusing on the Future

By Joe Barnett / January 27, 2017 / Comments Off on Focusing on the Future

Faith is being sure of what we hope for.                      —Hebrews 11:1 Hedonists take the short view of life: eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Christians take the long view: weighing present decisions on future scales. Present pleasure may bring pain in the […]

Make Your Father Proud

By Joe Barnett / January 26, 2017 / Comments Off on Make Your Father Proud

God is not ashamed to be called their God.                          —Hebrews 11:16 God said, “Those who honor me I will honor” (1 Sm. 2:30). The patriarchs were far from faultless, but they took God at his word and were “still living by faith when […]

Joy on the Other Side of the Cross

By Joe Barnett / January 25, 2017 / Comments Off on Joy on the Other Side of the Cross

Jesus . . . for the joy set before him endured the cross.     —Hebrews 12:2 Your cross is the heaviest piece of furniture in the house, and sometimes you get tired of carrying it; exhausted from struggling with a problem that seems to have no solution and no end. The writer of Hebrews […]

Grateful People Are Happy People

By Joe Barnett / January 24, 2017 / Comments Off on Grateful People Are Happy People

[Be] strengthened in the faith . . . and overflowing with thankfulness.                 —Colossians 2:7 My physician says the “Greatest Generation” had almost no feeling of entitlement, but a huge sense of responsibility; and that today’s generation has a huge sense of entitlement, but almost no feeling of […]

Gone but Not Forgotten

By Joe Barnett / January 23, 2017 / Comments Off on Gone but Not Forgotten

Generations come and generations go. —Ecclesiastes 1:4 Today’s obituaries will be largely forgotten before the week is over. But not by those who deeply loved one of the dear departed. A glance at a shelf across the room reveals adored faces, lovingly framed. There’s your dad. You remember his smile, his smell, his gait, his […]

Remember Me

By Joe Barnett / January 20, 2017 / Comments Off on Remember Me

Remember me when you come into your kingdom.                                 —Luke 23:42 Eat the bread. Drink the wine. “In remembrance of me.” In our worship, when we hit the pause-the-noise button and sit a few moments in silent remembrance of him, […]

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